Author: S Kannan

Sport loves contests where fans’ cheers add to the atmosphere. Those from a previous generation will recall growing up watching John McEnroe rant, rave and win matches. The left-hander’s skills were magical, but the four-letter expletives he let slip were often unparliamentary, and earned the ire of the chair umpires. This year at the French Open, Johnny Mac is there as usual in his TV role. He loves to stir up controversy, so when Rafael Nadal went into the second Grand Slam of the year unseeded with a “protected ranking”, it led to a furore. For all the fire and…

A Division Bench of the High Court of Delhi suspended a Single Judge’s judgement appointing an ad hoc administration committee to run the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI). The Division Bench has also ordered the reinstatement of the Executive Committee members who had been removed from office by the EFI Secretary-General Col. Jaiveer Singh under some pretext or the other. Hearing appeals preferred by Col. Singh and the Chandigarh Horse Riders Society against Justice Tara Vitasta Ganju’s May 21 judgement, Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora on Wednesday accepted the alternative prayer of the Rajasthan Equestrian…

A RevSportz Exclusive Interview The Indian athletes preparing for the Paris Olympics starting on July 26 are at a critical phase. While some have already booked their places and now executing their plans to peak on the big stage, a few more are still attempting qualification. Amidst this scenario, one athlete who is quietly competing and hoping she can do well in Paris 2024 is golfer Diksha Dagar. Last week, she competed in the Jabra Open at the Evian Resort Golf Club in France and finished tied for 20th. Diksha had spoken to RevSportz before embarking on her Europe tour…

The official dress for male and female athletes who will represent India at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on July 26 will have an ethnic touch. Sources confirmed to RevSportz on Tuesday that the women athletes would be back in sarees and smart blouses. What will stand out is the India tricolour on the outfit. Earlier, there was a plan to go in for trousers for the ladies, but that has been changed. All those incharge of the dress ideation for Indians appearing at the march-past wanted the athletes to look smart, with the essence of Indiacaptured in the…

There is never a method in madness, yet if you were to assess Rafael Nadal entering the French Open this year, it was almost an act of bravado. On Monday evening, the winner of 14 French Open titles succumbed to Alexander Zverev in the first round at Court Philippe-Chatrier. This was not meant to be a David vs Goliath contest. Yet, if you looked at the three-hour-long contest, what cannot be wiped out is the fact that Nadal lost in three straight sets. Pray, when was the last time the winner of 22 Grand Slam titles was subjected to such…

It takes effort and resilience to come back when written off by carping critics. On Sunday, Dipa Karmakar showed the fire is still there in her belly as she won a historic gold medal in the vault at the Asian Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Tashkent on Sunday. With 60 days to go for the start of the Paris Olympics, there is excitement in the air. Hang on, hold your horses, this win does not mean Dipa is in the reckoning for an entry into the draw for the Paris Games. According to Bishweshwar Nandi, her coach, she is “second…

S.Kannan in Chennai It was a hot and humid Sunday evening at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk. Ahead of the IPL 2024 final against Sunrisers Hyderabad, one man’s face stared at you from electronic LED screens – Shreyas Iyer. Had the men in charge of preparations for the arena, outside the field of play, hyped Shreyas more than Pat Cummins? Perhaps not, for KKR had stormed into the final with a measure of comfort. Eventually, after the toss took place and the final was settled well before time, all kinds of comments were heard. This writer was fortunate to get…

How often have we heard the words, mood, energy and ambience? On Sunday evening at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, the atmosphere was festive and bubbling with anticipation. From the Marina Beach till the hallowed precincts of Chepauk, it was a breeze, literally. Driving past the beach front and into the veritable cauldron that the stadium turned into an hour before the toss, fans turned up in fair numbers. No Chennai Super Kings, no yellow fever. It was KKR colours and SRH, orange like the sun. The T-shirts worn by fans were lovely. There were so many ‘Sunil Narine’ and…

All of a sudden, there is a buzz around the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) team, on and off the field. If it’s skipper Pat Cummins who has led from the front and piloted the team into the IPL 2024 final for a date with Kolkata Knight Riders, Kavya Maran, the franchise CEO, is also in the news, big time. This writer has spent the last 24 hours and more in Chennai, the home of a famous IPL franchise – Chennai Super Kings (CSK) – to understand the mood of the city. To say that many are morose would be stating the…

Rafael Nadal has dropped more than a hint that this edition of the French Open, beginning today in Paris, may not be his last. At a news conference on Saturday evening, ahead of the season’s second Grand Slam, Nadal was in a jocular mood. On Monday, the winner of 14 French Open titles meets Alexander Zverev. Given the Spaniard’s battle with fitness, breakdowns and not being able to string together a sequence of wins, the general impression was 2024 would be his last appearance at Roland Garros. “It’s a big, big chance this is going to be my last Roland…